Author here. Thank you, review! I have now applied the distinction between point-of-views on chapters 1-4. :D

Ivy, Duskpaw, and Ferretpaw

Ivy

A sleek brown she-cat lurked in the shadows, shrouded in the darkness of the falling night, and the shadows of the trees around her. Ivy stalked her prey, slinking behind tree after tree, hoping that she would get a chance to catch the little brown rabbit off guard. She used to feel sympathy for her prey, but learning to fend for herself came naturally to her now. Her whole personality had changed since she escaped the strangle hold of her past. No longer was she that stupid little kit that allowed every cat she had ever met to use her and walk all over her. No; that kit had burst into flames, and a newer, stronger cat rose from the ashes. Upon becoming a rouge, a braver, more powerful spirit chased away the meekness in her and made her slender body strong.

Thinking about her past had distracted her just long enough for her to lose sights on her would-have-been dinner, allowing the perfect chance for it to escape sure death. As sleek as she was, Ivy was usually an excellent huntress. She mentally cursed herself for allowing this kit's mistake and continued to hunt, venturing further into the woods as the night grew darker.

Ferretpaw

It would've been a tedious job to any other cats in his Clan, but not to him. Ferretpaw couldn't think of a better way to spend his time.

"Juniper," he mewed to himself. "Those are next." And so he continued, taking in the scents around him and enjoying the nice weather.

It didn't take him long to find the berries, and when he did he tried to work fast. Brindlestripe told him to hurry, and he'd already been out for a while. Soon, however, his calm day was interrupted.

A sharp, unfamiliar scent hit him suddenly, and he opened his mouth a bit to taste the air. It was definitely a cat, but not any cat he'd ever met. It didn't have the scent of a cat from a Clan, either. His heart began to beat faster, and his breath quickened. He glanced around himself hurriedly, desperately hoping that he was wrong. What could he do? What could a weak cat like himself do?

Calm down, he thought. You've got to stay calm. There are other cats that can handle this better than you can. And besides that, there's a large chance that you're wrong.

He left the berries on the ground and bolted back to camp, praying to StarClan that this was his imagination.

Duskpaw

Duskpaw stretched his hind legs out, and hissed as a shock of pain shot up his body from his muscles.

"Fox Dung," muttered Duskpaw, "that ol' piece of dirt got me sore again." As far as he could tell, he didn't even need battle training. Duskpaw frowned at the thought of his mentor, Nightmist. Nightmist was jet-black, as his name hinted. He also happened to be incredibly furry; making sure Duskpaw would smell the scent of his mentor's pelt along with the failure of his own heavy paws easily being unbalanced by Nightmist's quick ones. Duskpaw wasn't even in the mood to eat after that! He felt his rage sink from his mind down to his claws and unsheathed them. As he continued to mentally complain, a different scent floated near his nose and tingled his whiskers.

Duskpaw smirked at the scent.

"Ferretpaw, out of camp, alone," Duskpaw licked a single paw, and whisked it across his dark whiskers, "I needed something to lift my mood." Duskpaw stood up, flinching at his aching muscles, but trotted happily after the fear-and-herb-wreathed scent.

The Search

Ivy

Ivy froze, and she knew it was not just the frigid early morning air stiffening her muscles. No, she had definitely sensed another cat close by, and it had probably sensed her too. The cat quickly disappeared just as she noticed its presence.

As the sun moved deeper into the sky, Ivy pulled herself through the boggy forest, pondering on this unfamiliar cat that she sensed earlier. It definitely wasn't a cat from her past clan; it was probably just another rogue. Ivy continued to move through the woods as quietly as possible. Though she didn't think she should worry about the other cat, if it was a cat from one of the strange warrior clans, she could be in trouble. She had to try and stay off of clan territories, or risk being captured and, depending on the clan and the clan leader, possibly killed. This thought sent a chill running throughout Ivy's frame.

She stopped herself from continuing on this frightening thought path, and returned her attention to her hunt. She still hadn't been able to find anything to eat since she let the rabbit escape. She needed food to continue looking after herself, and that was that. Not eating, for even a couple of nights, was not an option.

Duskpaw

Duskpaw focused his senses and followed the scent leading away from camp and into the deep, muddy forest. But once he made it past the carrion place, not only was Ferretpaw's scent stronger... but it seemed to be heading towards him.

And directly after the thought passed through Duskpaw's mind did the tiny tabby-tomcat collide directly into Duskpaw, with an OOF! Duskpaw hissed in frustration, and went tumbling backwards into the grimy forest floor of Shadowclan's territory, with the small medicine cat on top of him. Ferretpaw stared at Duskpaw with horror in his eyes.

"Ferretpaw, you-" Duskpaw began through clenched teeth, but Ferretpaw was already off running again! Duskpaw felt the adrenaline of the chase and was suddenly excited. He launched himself with his sore muscles directly on top of Ferretpaw, pinning him.

How's THAT for uncoordinated, Duskpaw silently thought to Nightmist, who had previously scorned him in battle practice for his clumsiness. Ferretpaw squirmed in panic and fought for breath.

"Duskpaw! No! There's-" Ferretpaw gasped, but Duskpaw interrupted him.

"You ran into me! Me," Duskpaw growled, acting as if he hadn't been following the tom. He raised a paw to try and make Ferretpaw flinch, but the small cat simply fought harder to flip himself over. More strength than usual, strange, thought Duskpaw.

Ferretpaw's meow burst through his thoughts, "You don't understand! ...I-I think I smelled an enemy cat over-" Duskpaw's head shot up at the word enemy, though he still kept Ferretpaw pinned.

"Enemy cat? On our territory!? Imagine… if I brought home an enemy warrior!" Duskpaw's eyes widened in excitement at the thought of it.

"B-but-" Ferretpaw stuttered, and Duskpaw shoved his own tail in Ferretpaw's mouth to shut him up.

"We're going to find it! And you'll be leading me. Now, move!" Duskpaw hissed, and grabbed Ferretpaw by the scruff of his neck to yank him up on his paws.

Ferretpaw was frozen, "J-Juniper-"

"Go."

And Ferretpaw began shakily leading Duskpaw through the dark, piney forest.

Ferretpaw

Ferretpaw's small feet padded ahead of Duskpaw, making hardly any noise. If only Duskpaw would've listened to him! This wasn't a warrior, it was a rogue. There was no telling what it would do! Then again, if Ferretpaw hadn't been such a coward they wouldn't be in the situation in the first place. He shook his head, letting out a frustrated breath. Either way, he had to focus on leading Duskpaw to the rogue now. He tasted the air, and he immediately picked out the scent of the dark blue berries. If only he was actually going to pick them instead of going to find what he assumed would be a less-than-pleasant rogue on their territory. He sighed and continued ahead, trying to keep calm.

When he got to the berries, the scent of the cat was still present, hanging in the air ominously. He stared down at the berries, not wanting to look up at the other apprentice.

"This is where I smelled it," he mewed nervously. He could've led Duskpaw further, but Duskpaw would be better at tracking it from there, anyway.

Ivy

"Berries, plants, leaves. I can't live off of this. I need real food. Come on Ivy, you are a huntress, you aren't a kit. Focus!" she scolded herself. She found herself doing this quite often.

Why? she wondered this too, but perhaps it was because she was scared of returning to what she once was.

Walking through the woods with no food was starting to become a problem for Ivy. Her hunger was literally starting to slow her down. If she were attacked in her current state, she would most definitely lose. Despite her usually strict carnivorous diet, Ivy dropped her pride and walked over to a nearby berry bush. She was never any good at this; deciding which berries were toxic and which were safe to eat. She'd just have to trust her senses.

"Yeah, those same senses that let my meal get away and could have gotten me captured," she scolded herself again but sighed before she let herself go any further. "I've got to stop this." She said and sniffed each of the berries very carefully.

She plucked a delicate berry from a bushel of leaves and let it sit in her mouth for a while before slowly biting down. A tart sensation danced in her mouth. Either she had picked the berry she had wanted, the Juniper that would improve her strength, or she had picked a self explaining Deathberry; she hoped for the first option.

Before she could enjoy her snack any longer, she caught two sharp scents. One was familiar, the scent that she had picked up on earlier. A rouge would not have fetched a partner. Ivy feared she had entered a territory and found a tree, quickly climbing it. Trying to blend into the greenery, she crouched and waited to run.

Duskpaw

Duskpaw lifted his muzzle and sniffed the air. The rogue stank. Duskpaw wrinkled his nose.

"Well Ferretpaw, I guess you can..." Duskpaw stopped himself. He considered the situation. He couldn't even beat his stupid mentor in a practice battle. If this warrior was really rough and tough... "..I guess you can stay with me! That's right. You have the honor of walking with the great Duskpaw hunting his prey," Duskpaw bragged.

Or the honor of being my shield, thought Duskpaw. He glanced at Ferretpaw, who was standing with his jaw gaping open.

Duskpaw bared his teeth. "Well come on then, the scent's that way," he pointed his snout in the direction of the stink, "and if someone gets hurt because you weren't fast enough-" Duskpaw started meowing, but Ferretpaw already hung his head and began padding after the scent, muttering something under his breath.

Duskpaw made sure to hiss at Ferretpaw as he passed to make him jump. They twisted through the short pines of the dark territory, and Duskpaw continued to push Ferretpaw in front. After what seemed like moons, Ferretpaw suddenly halted in front of a thistle bush that was leaning against an old pine tree with the fur on the back of his neck rising in alarm.

Duskpaw prodded him with a paw, "What is it, mouse brain?" He scowled at Ferretpaw. Ferretpaw took a sharp breath in, starting to talk, when suddenly a figure fell from the sky; it landed on top of Ferretpaw and Duskpaw, causing them both to shout, and split apart.

"R-R-R-" Ferretpaw was stuttering as he quickly slithered out from underneath the dark figure.

"Rogue ambush!" Duskpaw finished with a shaky voice, shoving their attacker off of himself with his broad shoulders. Duskpaw had to regain his footing from his clumsy force, but then calmed his nerves, stuck out his fur until he was twice his size, and turned around to face the enemy.

But now Duskpaw saw. This enemy was already down. It was a dirty, dark brown she-cat, convulsing in agony and foaming at the mouth.

Duskpaw felt a shiver rise up his spine, "W-what's wrong with her?" He mewed in horror. Ferretpaw had been trembling behind the thistle bush. He emerged at the sound of Duskpaw's terrored awe, with huge eyes, staring at the rogue.

"Great StarClan," he breathed. Suddenly the small tabby tom's face was hard. He looked up sharply at Duskpaw. "Go fetch me a yellow, bristled leaf with a sour stench! There's some by the river; hurry! And do not swallow it!" Ferretpaw meowed sternly. Dazed, Duskpaw turned tail and obeyed the cat he usually bullied.

He dashed as quickly as he could through the forest, found the stream, grabbed the leaf, and charged back to the site of the rogue. When he returned, he saw Ferretpaw's paws soaked in the foam of the she-cat's mouth, ripping pieces of berries out of it. Ferretpaw glanced up to see that Duskpaw had returned and darted over faster than lightning, ripping the leaf out of Duskpaw's jaws, chewed it up, and spit it back out.

"What's going on?" Duskpaw pulled the words out of his jaw weakly. He was utterly confused and out of breath. Ferretpaw ignored him and started shoved the bile of the leaf in the rogue's mouth. Then he massaged the rogue's neck, urging her to swallow.

"Come on now..." Ferretpaw was speaking to himself with his voice tightening as if he were on the verge of panic, but he quickly regained his composure with careful breathing. Duskpaw's head tilted to one side at the strange change of character for Ferretpaw when the medicine cat apprentice had seen tortured rogue. Suddenly, the rogue's eyes, which previously had been wildly whipping around, rolled back in her head. She ceased her convulsions and retched.

Duskpaw frowned. "That was your brilliant rescue?" He began to shake off his discomfort and act normal, but then the rogue began to cough and breathe regularly, and then passed out soundly. Ferretpaw sighed with relief and turned to Duskpaw.

"She ate deathberries," he explained quietly, "but I was able to get her to regurgitate the bile. She needs rest now," he mewed turning toward the rogue. "We're bringing her to camp," Ferretpaw stated surely.

"We're helping the enemy?" Duskpaw shouted with disbelief. He didn't like Ferretpaw when he wasn't afraid. Duskpaw frowned more.

Ferretpaw rolled his eyes, reasoning, "How about a 'capture' then?" Duskpaw's eyes lit up and he completely went along with that perspective of the situation.

Shouting in triumph, "This filthy beast will never again steal from ShadowClan!" He bounced over to her and scooped her up by her scruff, carrying her back to camp next to Ferretpaw.